Americans trust in media hits all time low: Poll

President Joe Biden’s executive order on preventing/combating gender discrimination has triggered outrage among sections of Americans. They said it would make a must for schools to allow transgender females to compete in girls’ sports where trans female athletes have physical advantages. However, LGBTQ groups have welcomed it. They say children shouldn’t worry if they can compete in sports or not.

Baseball legend Hank Aaron, who is known for having broken Babe Ruth’s career home run record, has died at the age of 86, the Atlanta Braves announced. The legendary player had broken Babe’s record of 714 home runs in 1974 with a shot to the left field bullpen at Atlanta Fulton County Stadium. He had also received racist death threats as he closed in on Ruth’s record.

Dave Chappelle is quarantining after testing positive for COVID-19. Chappelle was supposed to perform in Austin, but following the diagnosis, has decided to cancel his remaining show dates at a venue in the city. Chappelle had been holding socially-distanced shows in Ohio since June of last year. Fans with tickets to the shows can contact their point of purchase for refunds.

An 18-month-old toddler fatally shot his cousin while playing with a loaded gun that he got hold of unattended at his Detroit home. The deceased is a 5-year-old boy. The bullet struck the boy’s neck. Police arrested the 27-year-old father of the boy and uncle of the toddler who was at home at the time. Calling the death ’completely avoidable,’ police emphasized on the importance of gun safety.

Thousands of National Guardsmen were allowed back into the Capitol Thursday night, hours after Capitol Police officials ordered them to vacate the facilities. According to Politico, guardsmen were told they could no longer access areas of the Capitol Complex after tirelessly defending the nation’s capital. One unit of 5,000 soldiers was forced to take breaks in a nearby garage.

More than 15,000 National Guard members are preparing to leave Washington, D.C. and head home a day after President Joe Biden’s inauguration. Of the nearly 26,000 Guard troops deployed to D.C. for the inaugural, just 10,600 remain on duty, the National Guard Bureau reported. The Guard is helping states with coordination and the logistics so that troops can get home.

Dr. Fauci spoke on Thursday describing a ’liberating feeling’ of being able to speak scientific truth about the coronavirus without fear of ’repercussions’ from Donald Trump. Under Trump, Fauci was often criticized for his scientific views and increasingly sidelined from public briefings. Promising transparency, Fauci said ’If things go wrong, (we will) not point fingers, but to correct them.’

While about 17.5 million Americans have received their first COVID-19 vaccine shot, health officials in many states have raised concerns about a shortage of vaccine supplies. New York City reportedly shut down 15 vaccine centers and canceled 23,000 appointments on Thursday. The setback comes even as stadiums and other large venues continue to transform into vaccine mega-sites.

Senate Republican Leader McConnell proposed delaying Donald Trump’s impeachment trial until mid-February. McConnell said he had offered a proposed timeline to new Senate Majority Leader Schumer which would see the House present the impeachment articles to the Senate on Jan. 28 and allow Trump’s legal team 14 days to prepare their pre-trial brief.

President Joe Biden has signed a raft of executive orders to boost the fight against Covid which has ravaged the US. He highlighted 10 important initiatives including necessary steps taken during the Covid-19. He further mentioned that if all work together, they will succeed in this war and he believes that American people are able to make it. He requested people to support him.

President Biden released the details of his COVID-19 response plan, including steps to get kids back in schools. Biden directed the Dept. of Education and Health and Human Services to provide guidance on reopening. The plan to reopen schools includes accelerating the pace of vaccinations and providing more funding for institutions. It also encourages the FCC to improve internet connectivity.

Dr. Fauci, speaking to the World Health Organization (WHO) on Thursday, said the US intends to join the COVAX vaccine facility that aims to deliver coronavirus vaccines to poor countries. Fauci confirmed that the US would remain a member of the UN agency. Reacting to this, WHO director-general Tedros said, ’This is a good day for WHO and a good day for global health.’

The Senate has paved the way for retired Gen. Lloyd Austin to lead the Pentagon, with Mr. Austin poised to make history as the nation’s first Black secretary of Defense. The Senate confirmed Austin in a 93-2 Friday morning vote, with the two no votes coming from GOP Sens. Josh Hawley and Mike Lee. The vote gave Biden his second Cabinet member two days after his inauguration.

When President Trump cleared the 1,200-mile Keystone XL pipeline project, running through a part of Montana, many Indigenous tribespeople were concerned that an oil spill from the pipeline would contaminate their irrigation and drinking water. Now, Indigenous and environmental groups are celebrating President Biden’s order blocking it. However, Canada’s Prime Minister Trudeau is disappointed.

Colored people are dying at three times the rate of white people of Covid-19 in Texas. Now, officials think something isn’t right about the distribution of the vaccines there. In Austin, several officials pushed back on the initial plan, which would have put just 9 of the city’s 65 vaccination sites on the lower-income and more diverse area. They now want a proportionate distribution of the jabs.

Photographs have suggested that President Joe Biden has removed the bust of former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill from the Oval Office, and has installed the busts of civil rights leaders Martin Luther King, Rosa Parks and socialist Latino union leader Cesar Chavez. Earlier, former President Barack Obama had also removed the bust, which was then reinstated by Donald Trump.